Brian Clark sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes fixed intently on the figure ahead. His gaze slowly slid down from the slender waist and stopped at a perky spot.

　　James White: "......"

　　Cultivators have keen senses; she had long noticed the gaze from behind. Thinking that her junior brother was not the rude type and probably not doing it on purpose, she said nothing at first.

　　Who would have thought he’d become more and more brazen.

　　As expected, Jiuzhu Mountain is a bad influence. Taking Brian Clark away early was a wise choice.

　　After a moment, James White felt uneasy under the locked gaze, her brows furrowed as she turned around, about to say something—only to see sweat beading on Brian Clark’s forehead, his eyes still fixed straight ahead.

　　"Junior brother, what's wrong?"

　　"Afraid of heights."

　　"......"

　　"Afraid of heights!!"

　　"Uh... I'll go faster, we'll be there soon."

　　……

　　Dasheng Pass, west side.

　　Amidst the surrounding woods, many pavilions and small courtyards peeked through.

　　Brian Clark, pale-faced, followed behind James White. Upon landing, when his senior sister kindly offered her hand, he resolutely refused.

　　This was his last bit of stubbornness.

　　Dasheng Pass was the largest stronghold of the Huangji Sect in Ningzhou, its defenses far beyond what Jiuzhu Mountain could match. Not wanting to cause any trouble, James White sheathed her sword early and led Brian Clark on foot to her friend's residence.

　　Brian Clark fully supported this. Walking was great—Heaven gave humans two legs, not two wings, precisely to tell people to walk properly and not always think about flying everywhere.

　　Besides, this gave him time to recover, so he wouldn’t end up spilling his "grand gift" all over the doorstep.

　　Clang, clang, clang!

　　In front of a grand residence, James White knocked on the brass ring. In just a moment, an elderly man carrying a lantern came to open the door.

　　"Miss White, madam is waiting in the hall. Please follow me."

　　"Thank you."

　　James White nodded and led Brian Clark inside. At this moment, she wore a white veil, her standard attire for going out.

　　Walking through the front courtyard, Brian Clark saw in the main hall the old friend James White often mentioned.

　　In terms of appearance, she was a beautiful woman in her thirties, with a voluptuous figure and an elegant air, though compared to James White, she lacked a certain ethereal quality.

　　"My dear senior sister, why are you... here again?"

Chapter 9: I Never Expected You to Be This Kind of Senior Sister

　　"In the past, you’d only visit once every three or five years. But these days, you come more often than my own husband. Especially today—I just saw you off, hadn’t even sat down to rest, and here you are again."

　　The beautiful woman teased a few times, her bright eyes turning to Brian Clark, lighting up at once: "If I’m not mistaken, this must be Junior Brother Clark, right?"

　　"Brian Clark, greetings, Senior Sister Reed." Brian Clark said politely.

　　As for this beautiful woman’s identity, James White had explained to Brian Clark on the way. Her name was Anna Reed, wife of Wei Mao, the county constable of Dasheng Pass. She had once apprenticed at the Lingxiao Sword Sect, sharing the same master as James White; both were disciples of the sect leader’s wife.

　　The difference was, James White was a formal disciple and inherited the true teachings of Lingxiao Sword Sect, while Anna Reed was an outer disciple who returned home to marry after ten years of study.

　　The "Zhu" in Anna Reed’s name was the same as the Zhu clan of Wu Zhou—a standard royal descendant. She hadn’t joined the Huangji Sect for cultivation, but instead chose to casually train at the Lingxiao Sword Sect, as her elders wished.

　　Wu Zhou had been founded for eight hundred years; there were simply too many princes and royal descendants.

　　With a big forest, you get all kinds of birds;

　　With too many people, the forest disappears, and so do the birds.

　　Among the Zhu clan’s princes and descendants, there was no shortage of ambitious types vying for the throne—some just dreaming, some with real means to try.

　　Those without the means or the courage, fearing the undercurrents, would voluntarily withdraw from the power struggle.

　　Over time, an unwritten rule formed within the Zhu clan: any descendant who gave up their generational name in the family register was considered to have renounced their ancestral grace and, from that generation on, would not be recorded in the Zhu genealogy.

　　Tong, Feng, Shou, Yong; Zheng, Da, Guang, Ming; Pei, Shi, Xue, Zong; Wen, Heng, Sheng, Chong.

　　Li, Ding, Ying, Zhi; Jun, Liang, Hou, Qi; Nian, Qin, Xiao, Sheng; Jing, Biao, Ji, Yuan.

　　Shi, Jie, Chun, Gong; Gui, Shan, Ru, Song; Xiu, Fa, Jing, Xun; Bang, Qi, Shi, Sheng.

　　Shi, Li, Min, Chong; Jia, Cheng, Yu, Jin; Dao, Xian, Yu, Wei; De, Ze, Chang, Long.

　　These were the Zhu clan’s generational names. In Anna Reed’s case, it was obvious—she didn’t just lack a generational name; her name didn’t contain one at all. The fact that she apprenticed at Lingxiao Sword Sect instead of Huangji Sect said it all.

　　Of course, renouncing is one thing, but the Zhu bloodline can’t be washed away. Even though Anna Reed was married and not from Huangji Sect, she still held a post at Dasheng Pass thanks to her surname.

　　In her own words, "If I’m going to be idle somewhere, I might as well find a cushy job with a monthly salary, so I can buy some cosmetics for myself and my daughter during the holidays."

　　By the way, her daughter apprenticed at Lingxiao Sword Sect, and her master was James White.

　　The friendship between Anna Reed and James White was pure, with no "high-molecular polymers" involved. Whenever James White ran around for Brian Clark’s sake, it was always Anna Reed she sought help from at Dasheng Pass.

　　"Greetings, Junior Brother Clark. What a handsome face you have—tsk tsk... Please, have a seat, make yourself at home."

　　Anna Reed circled around Brian Clark twice, clicking her tongue in admiration, then grabbed James White by the wrist and pulled her aside to whisper.

　　The two women whispered together, and Brian Clark, curious, managed to catch three key words.